Impulse
by Magery
Summary: Lelouch has never been impulsive, not really. The sort of strategy he practices has never left him much room for snap decisions, and by the time he has to make them, it's invariably a sign that he's already lost. But when he's forced to fight himself, he can rely only on the only thing he'd never before considered... impulse.
1. Screw The World, Get The Girl

The meeting between Lelouch and Kallen referenced in this chapter is detailed in _Decode_. These two stories take place in the same canon.

* * *

Pain. He knew all about pain. One could almost say he was nothing more _than_ pain, a thousand injuries from a thousand sources in a thousand different places; a spider's web tangled around itself, memories like its silken strands, binding him to everything he was and everything he shouldn't be. He was icy deception, smooth and calm and oh so _cold_ on the surface, the cracks hidden beneath the thin veneer of Lelouch vi Britannia, ninety-ninth Emperor and sole ruler of mankind.

And that façade couldn't last, which is why he had to die and die so soon, before it shattered and everything he'd ever done turned out like it usually did – for naught. He had to consign himself to oblivion, to the lonely, cold sleep of the damned, to bury the sins of the world under his own. A burden no-one could bear, because the world is so much _bigger_ than one man, no matter who he was. And he didn't bear it – anyone who knew him well enough could see it in his eyes, in the slow, deliberate pace of his walk. After all, there was no need to hurry. He knew exactly what the future held, and he didn't want to go there. But he had to.

The days slowly ticked by, each stretching well past twenty-four hours in the privacy of his own head, a whole lifetime of memories compressing themselves into two months, because he had nothing else to do but think. All the planning had been completed long ago – all that was left was its implementation, and that he could perform by rote while his mind ticked through more regrets, more deaths, more lies, more _everything_ than anyone else would ever deal with.

He was larger than life, and the one truth that inevitably came to light about those larger than life is that they would die early, often too early for anything to really begin. The larger they were, the earlier they would die, because that's the way of the universe. Balance. Karma. Whatever you wanted to call it, that's the way it was.

Unless you cheated, you had one allotted span. How you chose to live decided how fast you'd use your time up, and for Lelouch, well, he thought he'd used it up a long time ago. He was amazed he'd lasted this long. Ever since the day his mother died, he'd been living on borrowed time. Borrowed from whom, he didn't know, but he wasn't going to try and waste it. He knew, in a way, without the rebellion, he would have been wasting it. But the gambling, the history of mysteriously vanishing and skipping class, it all served a purpose once he'd decided to get out there and _do_ something.

But that's all everything did, wasn't it? Served a purpose. Even he, the man who supposedly (well, a little more than supposedly) controlled the world, was nothing more than a puppet, dancing on strings of his own design. Strings only a few knew even existed, and the only one capable of pulling them in a different direction wasn't counted among them. He knew he'd been thinking about her far too much, but he didn't care. He was going to die anyway, and she would never know. All he'd ever had were memories, and he wasn't going to forget. Not any more.

The days ticked onwards, hands making their lazy spiral around the clock, ticking towards what he'd dubbed Zero Hour. Suzaku had been amused, and so had the witch – amongst the demon's pact, black humour was all they really ever had. And all the while, he sat and thought, knowing that he shouldn't, knowing that he couldn't, and yet doing it all the same. Because the more he thought, the more he knew he might find something out there, something to make him call the whole plan off.

Well, that wasn't quite correct. He had found something, and it was only through a self-control honed by a decade and a half of loss, two years of war and two months of _pain_ that prevented him from doing what he knew he wanted to. Until that day, the day before he was due to die.

He went to see her, once, on the day that had no real tomorrow. His knight and his accomplice both warned him against it – they knew what it'd do to him, and feared that perhaps he knew it too. But he went anyway. He was there for a long time, hours in reality and a lifetime in his mind, and when he left, it was as melancholy, as depressed as he'd ever been. But they could see he was lighter, somehow, and they desperately wanted to know what had happened. So they did the obvious, and went to see her.

Only two words were spoken, but only those two words would ever be enough.

"I know."

And so they turned and left, content in the knowledge that she'd decoded whatever he'd said when he was there, and they knew that now his resolve was greater than ever. He'd been to see her, and she didn't hate him. They knew that was enough for him, enough to stay him from any other course other than the one he'd chosen.

They were so very right and so very wrong. Because deep, deep down, in a heart only a few knew he even had, he'd chosen a course a long time ago, regardless of whether he knew it or not. And that path would rear its head oh so very soon, as he finally realised what he wanted—no, what he needed—and what the world required weren't fundamental opposites. They were almost like quarrelling siblings. Related by blood and soul and a thousand other things, arguing with one another ever second even though they both knew that they'd reconcile eventually. They were like… they were like him and her.

The time had come. It was time for the Demon Emperor to die – but that didn't necessarily mean that that Lelouch had to die with him.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

This was originally intended to be a one-shot, but it kind of... stretched out. It's not going to be awfully long, but I found too many convenient scene breaks not to cut it into separate chapters. I'm thinking maybe... five or six chapters. And although it may seem like it, this isn't one of my depressed-Magery stories. I think the next chapter will make it obvious (if there's one thing I love more than writing arrogant Lelouch, it's writing Lelouch taking arrogant Lelouch Up To Eleven (TVTropes ftw). It's so much fun!).

I know the chapter is a little short - it is, after all, a prologue. The next chapter is already written and will be released fairly soon - I have to go to the hospital tomorrow (don't worry I'm not dying, or close to it. I have an ingrown toenail that needs excision) and I have an assignment due the next day, but I'll get it to you as soon as I've got more progress on the third chapter.

Until next time,

Magery

P.S Sherlock is awesome. 'Nuff said.


	2. I'm So Changeable!

The parade begins. The stage has been set. Time will tell what performance will be delivered, but for now Lelouch was content simply to watch, and watch he did. He watched the crowds around him, from out of the corner of his eyes as he started intently into the distance, and he did not let their fear break him. What he was about to do was far too important to allow himself the privilege of breaking. Not if he wanted to end this without ending himself. So instead, he simply watched, planning and rehearsing and marking everything he saw so he'd know exactly when to stop.

The moment arrived.

He held up a hand, and the procession stopped. Jeremiah looked up in confusion, but he did not question his master, and in that moment Lelouch thanked him in the only place he never had before – his mind. Oh, he'd spoken it aloud, but this time he truly meant it. He was only sorry it had taken him this long before.

Lelouch spoke, voice echoing through the hidden microphone on the collar of his robe, still resting indolently in his chair, eyes half-lidded as if the very thought of existing bored him. In many ways, that was not a lie.

"Absolute power is so frankly boring, isn't it? I can simply point and tell, say, you in the red shirt and everyone around you—but no more than fifty people, or else I'll be decidedly unhappy—to start dancing, and they will. For no other reason than that I asked them to. Well, not really _asked_… but you know what I mean, don't you?"

True to his word, exactly fifty people, including the man in the red shirt he'd spoken to, had started performing a ridiculous series of dances, and he knew they weren't going to stop until he asked them to. So he did.

"You can stop now. You're all terrible. I should have you shot. But maybe later, I have business to attend to."

He turned to the prisoners, meeting their eyes one by one, laughing at what he saw. He never looked at Kallen, of course, but then again she wasn't a prisoner, even less so than they actually were. He only wished she knew that, but he hadn't had time. What he was about to do was spur-of-the-moment stuff, and the less people knew about it, the better.

"Congratulations! I've decided executing you the standard way is far too boring. I need some amusement, don't I? So, I've decided on a—hush now Tamaki, I didn't give you leave to speak. Do it again and your tongue won't be the only one I rip out—far more interesting diversion. We're going to play a game."

Lelouch smiled, this time only looking at Kallen. It was a smile that didn't reach his eyes, which was a good thing, considering he was smiling like a demon while silently begging her to trust him. From her tiny, imperceptible nod that he was only mostly certain he hadn't imagined, she did. That was good.

"The rules are very simple. You get to speak to me once. One sentence. If you interest or impress me, I'll let you go. If you're really, really interesting, I'll not only let you go, but grant you one request as long as it's within my power.

However, if you fail to be interesting or impressive, or worse, you're plain boring, I won't only kill you; I'll torture the two people next to you in front of your eyes, and then kill you.

Of course, you have the right to remain silent, in which case I'll just execute you the boring, old-fashioned way. So, who's first? Answering that question doesn't count to your one-sentence limit. I'm not that heartlessly cruel."

He paused for a few moments.

"That was a joke. But my statement still stands."

Slowly and carefully, Kaguya spoke. Her voice carried clearly over the crowds; her experience as a skilled orator and politician had served her well. It had given her confidence, and Lelouch knew that without a clue as to what he was doing, she'd have needed every ounce she could muster to risk the lives of her friends on the whims of him, of all people. All for a chance he'd set them free. She was so very brave.

"I choose to speak."

Lelouch smiled, this time in earnest – out of everyone there, with the obvious exception of Kallen, she was the most likely to say something he could use to end everything.

"Very well, former Chairwoman. What say you?"

"Why?"

There was silence for a moment, as Lelouch processed the question. He'd expected something insightful and perhaps even witty, but he'd never suspected something like that. Then he smiled, once again in earnest, and for once he let his eyes match his smile. Kaguya noticed of course – she half-matched the smile as her eyes widened with surprise.

"Oh, very good. _Very_ good. I only know one or two other people who've ever bothered to ask that question. Or at least ask it seriously. Colour me impressed, Lady Kaguya. In fact, colour me so impressed that I expect your next statement to be a request, and one I'm inclined to grant."

He could hear the disbelieving mutters of the Black Knights, as well as a few expressions of surprise from those such as Gino, but he waited in silence, wondering what Kaguya would ask of him. He hoped he wouldn't have to be proven a liar this early.

"Could you please kill Kallen?"

In between his jaw dropping Kallen's gasp and his half-step back, he wondered what the hell Kaguya was think—_oh, you clever girl you._

"Amusing, Lady Kaguya. But I did specify it had to be within my power, and I think you know as well as I that your request clearly isn't. But first round to you, nonetheless. What's your real request?"

He knew that there weren't many others in the world that would have a clue about what had just happened, but they didn't matter. Kaguya had just about saved the world, because now he wasn't scared out of his wits about whether or not his plan would succeed or not. He was having _fun._ Kaguya spoke again, and this time Lelouch relaxed.

"Very well then. I humbly ask that you return the Chairpersonship of the UFN over to me."

"Consider it done, Madam Chairwomen. And since I seem to remember a certain promise, Jeremiah, would you please release the lady? I'm sure she's feeling a little uncomfortable."

Jeremiah obeyed, freeing Kaguya and placing her next to Lelouch at his gesture before resuming his place, never once questioning his orders out loud. Lelouch doubted he was even truly questioning them inside his own head.

"What the hell is going on?" Kaguya whispered, as Lelouch was about to ask for his "game's" next player.

"Sit back and enjoy the ride, Lady Kaguya. Because I'm not quite sure myself."

Lelouch turned away from the reinstated Chairwoman of the UFN and back to the prisoners, who were looking at him with different variations of abject shock, expressions he was sure they shared with at least half the world.

"So, who's next? Come along, I really don't have all day! Well, I do, but that's beside the point."

There was silence for several seconds, time stretching out almost to breaking point as Lelouch wondered if she was going to speak up, but finally she did.

"I am." Kallen's voice broke the silence, and this time Lelouch didn't have to force his eyes to match his smile. He looked over to her, mouth framing perhaps the most important question he'd ever ask. Well, second-most important question if he thought about it rationally. But that would imply the certainty of a future, and he couldn't guarantee that, not yet. Zerozaku (like he said before, the demon's pact's black sense of humour expressed itself in… unique ways) was due to arrive very, very soon.

"So, what say you, milady?"

Her response came out as a whisper, but Lelouch already knew what she was going to say. He'd seen it in her eyes a long time ago, but it wasn't until that visit in her prison cell that he'd finally _understood._ After all, it was then that he'd come up with this frankly audacious plan that he wasn't even sure if it would work. But it had to. It was for her. Because the pain he'd feel not getting to spend the rest of his life with her was nothing compared to the pain she'd feel when he died, and if he had to choose between her feeling pain and the world, well, Lelouch thought the events of today would make his choice quite clear.

"I love you."

The heads of the captives around her snapped towards her so quickly Lelouch was slightly worried they'd broken their own necks, but they were the only ones who'd heard, apart from him, and he didn't count because he already knew the answer. So he spoke again, a lazy grin stretching up his face, because even if he'd already known it made him unbearably happy to hear her say it.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"You damn well know what I said!" she yelled at him, the Kallen he knew never very far away.

"Yes, I do, don't I? So, your request?" Lelouch could sense the crowd's confusion, and perhaps the world's as well, but he didn't really care. He had too much to do, and not enough time.

"You." This time her voice was much louder.

"If you insist," he said, bowing. "I hear and obey, oh my mistress."

Jeremiah was already moving, halfway through the process of freeing Kallen before Lelouch had finished his last sentence. The moment he shattered her bindings, Kallen leapt downwards, somehow landing gracefully despite the height of the fall, and stalked (stalked was really the only word he could use in polite company. And it really was stalking, in a way) towards Lelouch, up the float and towards his throne. He saw the expression in her eyes as she started walked up the ramp, and decided to stand up, just in case she did decide to throw him off. As she got closer, she started to almost yell at him, loud enough to be picked up by the microphone.

"Lelouch, you are the most arrogant, conceited, ruthless, heartless, diabolical bast—" she reached him on the last word and before he could react she was kissing him, a lot harder and a lot more passionately than the last time. He surfaced a little while later, wondering what on earth had just happened, and blinked, Kallen's face coming back into focus before abruptly vanishing again as she slapped him across the face. _Hard._ _  
_

"_Never_ do that to me again." She demanded. Of course Kallen would have the nerve to demand something of the most powerful man in the world. He wouldn't have her any other way.

With that, she moved, standing to the opposite side of his throne as Kaguya, perfectly at ease, like she belonged there.

Typically, just when Lelouch thought things might finally be going his way, Suzaku appeared on the horizon. It seemed he'd retained the talent regardless of whether they were allies or not.

_Great timing, Suzaku, _he thought bitterly.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Welcome back! I hope you're enjoying the ride thus far, and don't think Lelouch (or his plan) is a little too OC - like I hinted at in the last Author's Note, Lelouch is hamming it up, and there's a specific reason for that. As for the 'game', well, that's part of the plan as well. Because what else would a ridiculously over the top Demon Emperor do but create sadistic games for his literally captive audience to play? And what would he do if he's secretly Lelouch underneath, trying to get out? Let them win, of course!

Next chapter, of course, we deal with what Suzaku thinks of the massive changes in the plan, as well as exactly what Kallen telling Lelouch she requests him will mean.

Until next time,

Magery

P.S The way Kallen's reactions are written in this chapter will not make sense unless you've read _Decode. _Like I said before, these two stories take place in the same canon.

P.P.S Lelouch. He's sooo changeable!


	3. Conquering The World: A Cure For Boredom

Suzaku careened down the road as fast as he could, Zero's signature cloak snapping around his body as he blurred. The faster he got there, the faster this could be over – the faster he could kill his best friend and his worst enemy, so they could accept one another's sacrifices and save the world, one through an obvious, public death and one through a secretive, hidden life. It would be fair to say that Suzaku had… mixed feelings about that.

He could hear the crowd's whispers and shouts as he tore past them, the wind created by his passage snatching their noise and tossing it to all four corners of the earth. However, even as he kept his head dead to sprint, he could tell that they weren't fully focused on him, as if something else strange was happening ahead, and that made him a little confused. Sure, Lelouch's float stopping for no apparent reason would be slightly surprising, but enough to draw their attention away from the sudden appearance of _Zero_? Now that made no sense.

It was with this confusion in mind that Suzaku topped the slight hill in the road before where the float was due to be stopped – it had been blocking his view of the street ahead, so when he finally got over it, he was expecting to see Lelouch's float sitting there.

It wasn't.

As far as Suzaku could tell, it was a couple of hundred metres further back than that, and… _what the hell is Lelouch doing?_ _Wha… what are Kaguya and Kallen doing released?_ He kept running, despite almost stumbling the first time he saw what must have been the reasons the crowd weren't as focused on him as they should have been. It didn't really change anything all that much, however – Suzaku needed to get close to him, albeit with the current change in the situation he kind of wanted to know what was going on first.

It had only been about fifteen seconds since he topped the hill, but he'd covered almost half the distance between them. Lelouch must have decided to actively notice that an apparently-dead Zero was racing towards him with a sword (the man would have seen Suzaku at the same time as Suzaku had seen him), because he turned away from what looked like a piece of Demon Emperor grandstanding, flicking both his arms to the side slightly, like he was loosening them.

But he wasn't – that was the gesture in their own sign language for 'Trust me'. Which usually preceded one or the other getting into a lot of trouble, and sometimes both depending on what mood their minders were in at the time. Right now, Suzaku thought that might be a bit of an understatement. He kept running, like the Demon Emperor hadn't given him a signal, because to the public, how could he have?

He could see the Sutherland escorts preparing to fire upon him when Lelouch held up a hand – they immediately stopped moving and stood to attention, so Suzaku slowed down to a walk. Now that he didn't need to keep moving to avoid getting killed, there was no point sprinting, not when a cool, calm and collected walk would be much more suited to how the scenario seemed to be playing out. He strolled towards the stopped float, only about fifty metres away. Jeremiah walked up to him, blades out even though they both knew he wasn't going to use them – they had appearances to keep up.

Once he was close enough to talk to Suzaku without anyone overhearing, Jeremiah started to speak.

"I don't know what the Emperor is doing, but I have a feeling he wants to talk to you."

"Thanks, Jeremiah, I never would have guessed." Suzaku said, grinning underneath the mask. "Now, exactly what has happened while the float has been stopped here?"

"The Emperor has been playing a 'game' with the prisoners. So far, the only two to have participated have won the 'grand prize'. Kaguya is now the Chairwoman of the UFN, as Lelouch rescinded his role when she asked for it, as per the rules of the game once she won. Kallen went second, and when she won (because we both know she was going to), she asked for Lelouch as her one request. I have no idea what that means, but I have a feeling the Emperor is, if you'll forgive my colloquialism, trying save the world _and_ get the girl. I just have no idea how."

By now, almost everyone was staring at Suzaku and Jeremiah, as they seemed to be in a frank conversation. Zero and the Demon Emperor's most loyal servant now that Suzaku was supposed to be dead, chatting amiably while surrounded by Lelouch's forces, metres away from the Emperor himself. While said Emperor had just relinquished his hold over the UFN and had just been passionately kissed in public and slapped in the face in the space of a few seconds, according to what Jeremiah had just told him. Suzaku wondered how many of them thought they'd stepped into the Twilight Zone or something like that.

Jeremiah abruptly turned and gestured toward Lelouch, indicating that their conversation would be of no further use to either of them. Suzaku started walking up the ramp, passing Schneizel and Nunnally, although he did slash the latter's chains apart, because that's what Knights of Justice did, help save little girls from big, bad dragons. Jeremiah followed behind, a completely unnecessary escort – not only because Suzaku wouldn't do anything to Lelouch until after their discussion, but because they both knew that even the cyborg wouldn't be fast enough to stop Suzaku from killing Lelouch if he wanted to.

He noticed Kallen moving slightly closer to Lelouch until she was next to him, as opposed to standing at his shoulder, and she whispered something to him briefly that made him smile – and it was a proper smile, not a Demon Emperor smile, so Suzaku knew he wasn't faking the amusement. Or happiness. Or whatever it was. The man started to speak just as Suzaku reached the top of the dais, his voice obviously enhanced by a microphone of some sort.

"Well well well. Fancy seeing you here, Zero. Come to join the party?"

"In a manner of speaking." Suzaku said as he shifted the sword slightly in his hand – all part of the show, of course, even if he was just going with the flow.

"Say, Zero, do you know how simply, infuriatingly, tediously boring absolute power is? I say jump, and they're midway in the air before they bother to ask how high. I mean, come on. Where's the fun in that? There's no challenge any more. It's just so… easy."

"If it bothers you so much, you could always just turn yourself in."

"But that's boring too! Sitting in jail, with nothing to do, and no-one to talk to. Until I decide to escape, of course, which would equally be easy and quite frankly not that much fun past the first few minutes either. I mean, all I want is an interesting life. Is that too much to ask? I thought I had it with this whole Emperor lark, but quite frankly I'm quite over that now. I just don't know what to do next!"

"So you're saying… you did all this because you were bored?"

"Mostly. I mean, it's one thing knowing you're a genius, but it's another thing proving it to the entire world unequivocally. And you have to admit, it was fairly easy. You'd been fighting Britannia for, what, two years or more? And then you died. Or, at least, you were supposed to. Obviously you're not, since you're standing here listening to me ramble.

Anyway, and then I come along, and three or four months later we're standing here, me not only as Britannia's Emperor, but as uncontested ruler of the entire world. Well, I used to be, until Lady Kaguya won two-thirds of it off me in our little game. Now that… that wasn't boring.

But I've already taken over the world once, and I can't be bothered doing it again. So I'm stuck with Britannia, but I don't even want that either! I suppose I could abdicate, but I wouldn't know what to do with myself afterwards!"

At that, Kallen leant forward and whispered to Lelouch – unluckily for the both of them, she'd forgotten about the microphone, and her next words were broadcast throughout the world.

"I could think of a few things."

Suzaku coughed, interrupting the shocked silence as Kallen flushed bright red and Lelouch looked like he would rather be somewhere else. With someone else. Seconds passed, and then Lelouch broke from his reverie and started speaking again.

"Yes, quite. Very well then, I think that's that decided then. I, Lelouch vi Britannia, sole ruler of the Holy Britannian Empire and CEO of the Black Knights, hereby relinquish the throne to Nunnally vi Britannia and return the Black Knights to Zero. Now, if you'll excuse me?"

As he spoke the last sentence, he reached out, collected Kallen's hand as she once again blushed bright red, and moved to walk past Suzaku. He reached out, grabbing Lelouch by the arm, and drew close enough to whisper without the microphone picking it up.

"Okay, I've probably gone completely insane for letting this happen (as have you, I might add), but whatever, I'm sure we'll figure all this out later. But don't you have a lot of Geassed minions? I can kind of see what you're trying to do here, but nobody is going to trust anyone if your soldiers are still around."

"Ah, yes."

Lelouch spoke into the microphone, so the entire world would hear his words.

"I, Lelouch vi Britannia, hereby release all those involuntarily sworn into my service from my control, starting tomorrow. From then, you are free, and always will be. For those of you who still consider yourself under my influence, I offer the services of one Jeremiah Gottwald for the period of one month, equally starting tomorrow.

Right, well, I'd better be off. It's been so nice to have had a proper chat"

"What if I was to stab you now? Right now?" Suzaku asked, because Zero had no reason to let the Demon Emperor go.

"Well, then you could cherish the look of surprise on my face. 'Cause I'd be surprised, Zero, really I would. And just a teensy bit… disappointed. And of course, you wouldn't be able to cherish it for very long. After all, I did specify my armies were to be released from their servitude tomorrow. Not today. Who knows what sort of orders they might have if I were to die?"

Suzaku almost laughed – trust Lelouch to have done the thinking for him.

"Goodbye, Zero."

"Catch you later." Suzaku replied, because he couldn't think of anything witty to say.

"No you won't!" Lelouch said, almost too cheerily.

Kallen and he then proceeded to walk down the street in the direction the float had come from; with one in the robes of a Britannian Emperor and a funny hat, and the other in the clothing of a prisoner and spiky red hair, they looked about as strange as the events of the past fifteen minutes. The crowd watched them in utter confusion, glances alternating between the pair and Zero, and then at each other, and then back at Kallen and Lelouch, most likely wondering what the hell was going on.

Then three gunshots cracked through the air, and Lelouch stumbled before dropping to one knee, hand pressed to his chest. Kallen screamed, and Lelouch removed his hand – it was completely soaked with blood. His blood. He looked at it almost bemusedly before speaking.

"Well, isn't that something." he said, before collapsing completely to the ground.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Is it just me, or am I getting into the habit of ending chapters with someone shooting at Lelouch? I mean, both chapters of Second Chances, and now this chapter here... I guess I'm growing sadistic in my old age.

Anyway, welcome back to the third installment of Impulse! I hope you've enjoyed the last two chapters (ye gods I love writing over-the-top Lelouch. Bonus points to anyone who can guess who he's channeling this chapter. Shouldn't be too hard), and that you've enjoyed this one in turn!

By the way, I've probably forgotten to mention this until now, but I do love reviews and everything else as much as the next author. Because I must admit, I am kinda sad that the last chapter got no (zero, zilch, nothing) reviews at all. Ah well, one must endure =P

Until next time,

Magery


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